My wife and I own a 2011 Kia Sorento LX AWD (4 cylinder) with the convenience package (heated seats, roof rails, fog lights, backup camera, parking assist).
Overall, I love the vehicle. As with any car, I have a few gripes.
I could write all day on this, so I am going to give you my top 2 pros and cons.
Pros -
1) Good MPG for a vehicle of its size. I average about 24 mpg overall in the summer and about 22 mpg in the winter, so far (Chicago). I have gotten as high as 26 mpg during a road trip. And remember, this is AWD. A FWD Sorento will get you a couple more MPG.
2) Functionality is outstanding - I have the 2 row version, which is all I wanted, and the rear seats fold flat, making a long, flat surface from the front seats all the way to the back of the vehicle. There is also an extra storage area under the cargo area that is big enough to hold 2 small suitcases. My wife and I really like this feature because we can let our two 50 lbs dogs roam in the back without worrying about getting hair or dirt on our luggage or whatever we are packing.
Cons -
1) My cruise control is very finicky. It doesn't work all of the time and I have to literally rig it to get it to work. Kia has been unable to pinpoint the problem because they can't recreate it, but it happens quite frequently and it's a downright nuisance.
2) The ride is little rougher than some of the competition. We seriously considered the Mazda CX-7 when we bought our Sorento. The CX-7 felt a little more refined from a suspension perspective, but I could not get past the load droning of the Mazda engine in the 4-cylinder CX-7. It literally drove me nuts on the test-drive and I could not imagine driving it every day.
I actually wanted the Toyota RAV4, but my wife was dead-set against it because she hates Toyota.
My wife's first choice was the CX-7, but I was against it for reasons already stated.
The Sorento was both of our second choices and the good things Consumer Reports said about it helped make us feel @ ease with our decision.
The Kia warranty factory warranty for new vehicles is the best available.
I have not driven the new CX-5, yet. It looks very promising.
If you are an inexperience buyer looking for the best way to haggle, I suggest you use www.truecar.com. It really works, there is no obligation and it's free.
MSRP on my Sorento was $26,630.
After negotiations and rebates, I got it for $23,699 out the door (included 7% tax, title fee, doc fee, license plate/registration).